english_methods_classfandomcom-20200214-history
English Methods Class Wiki
Reading Strategies Wiki Learning Team B: Stephanie Munoz, Matt Pawlik, Taylor Kerby DISCUSSIONS Directions: I will write number the questions and if we just write our name when who wrote what. If anyone else edit and save. After we answer the questions I will create a table with the main points for each questions. (please fill free to give me other ideas) # What are the major aspects written, oral, visual literacy? Stephanie: Oral literacy is vital for English Language Learners. Many of them may not have a grasp on primary language and then they are learning a new one. The rely significantly on oral literary to in their language acquisition. Many cultures history is still rooted in oral story telling so many students from certain cultures will grasp and make connection to oral literacy more than written or visual. Oral literacy allows more students to participate in case their reading skills are not at the same level as the rest. It allows students to discuss their thoughts before they start writing so if they have any questions they are answered. Matt: First and foremost, written literacy will vary across the diversity of any classroom. This will vary by each individual student, from specific learning styles to levels of exposure to writing, as well as by the classroom culture. Simply put, a student who demonstrates written literacy exhibits a clear ability to communicate in their respective language through the respective writing system. Written literacy also involves the student's ability to comprehend writing content and its intentions, as well as organizational features, such as grammar, spelling and structure. Oral literacy's foundations are rooted in the use of language through speech. A student demonstrates oral literacy if they exhibit the ability to speak as well as comprehend (or interpret) speech. This form of literacy arises the earliest and often times, students demonstrate higher oral literacy than written literacy. Finally, visual literacy can be defined as understanding/perceiving ideas, concepts and meaning through visual content, including, but not limited to, paintings, photos, film and so on. This also includes the reverse - producing and utilizing visuals to create meaning. Taylor: Much of this answer has already been covered in the above answers. However it is worth noting also that these types of literacy build on and reinforce on another. As someone gains better oral literacy they are better able to make sense of visual images and their understanding of the written word will enable them to have better visual and oral literacy. In other words, these "literacies" do not exist in isolation rather they work together to build greater literacy. # How to use reading circles and other student- centered approached to studying literature? Stephanie: In our readings student centered activities is what allows our students to connect with the literature. These activities allow students to talk through the text and have questions asked by their peers in a small group setting. In a small group setting deeper discussion and understanding occurs more than whole group because the are more engaged and they hold each other accountable. I have noticed for example that students listen more to their peers then to adults, so in theory they listen to discussions and connections that their peers are making more than the teacher. Matt: I believe that in most classroom scenarios and lesson plans, student-centered approaches create the most active environment with the highest potential for universal engagement. Studying literature is no exception. I would say one of the toughest figurative nut to crack in promoting student motivation to read (and more importantly, enjoy it and thus, get the most out of it). In selecting literature for any level, I enthusiastically believe in selecting text heavily based around those that students of that respective age level can relate to, be it culturally, demographically, emotionally, and so on. If this is done, reading circles will naturally fit into the lesson plan as a productive segment. Peers of all levels love discussing issues and perspectives in all forms of media that they feel personally invested in, especially as they are shaping their own identities. They cannot only learn more about themselves during these discussions, but also get a better grasp in terms of comprehending the text, as multiple analyses can be heard by all. Taylor: One way to make reading more "student centered" is to simply provide students with readings that speak to their interests. This obviously cannot be done without knowing something about students' interests. One thing I have done to ensure I am speaking to students' interests is to have them complete a "Letter to My Teacher" assignment wherein students are required to write to me abut their goals, dreams, career aspirations, hobbies, and home life. Using this information I can tailor curriculum to their interests and needs. # What are some different strategies to help students become reflective readers? Stephanie: Some strategies to have students become more reflective readers is have sentence frames or discussion starter questions. These should be very generic so that they fit most texts. In the classroom if I make it a routine I would hope that as the students are already looking for the answer to those questions. For example in every texts that they student read they have to figure out what the author's purpose is. I also believe that the students should be looking for the main idea or theme of the text and what are supporting evidence from the text. Also who is the intended audience for the author. I would display this in the classroom and refer to as I am modeling it. I would have sentence starters as well at the beginning to help differentiate for my special population of students. I also might make a book mark that is on the desk for the table group to refer to in their discussions as this activity becomes more student centered after practice. For my GATE/ Honors students I may in have challenge questions as we go through certain texts. Matt: I believe the most significant initial strategy in helping students become reflective readers is to prepare them with a question that links the upcoming reading with their personal lives, or at least provides a real world applicability. I utilize STARTERS, which are reflective, critical thinking, and creative questions presented to the students on the SmartBoard at the beginning of class, a routine that effectively stimulates the relevant academic mindset and general mentality needed to succeed in the successive lesson plan. Students respond to these questions in their journals and then a small discussion follows, fluidly transitioning into the reading through a variety of literary concepts. This could include the theme, mood, figurative language (to help comprehension of challenging texts), character arcs and so on. This approach can also be used during reading as a class (or even in reading circles) by providing interrupting focus questions in order to keep the students on a required level of comprehension and engagement. # What are some strategies for building comprehension and vocabulary skills in reading? Explain. Stephanie: We have school- wide annotation symbols that mean that same in every class so students are using the same annotations when they close read across the curriculum. I believe this helps the teacher show what is important by what symbol is written in the text or in their notes when students go back to study or review. Annotating along with close reading texts is helping students break down and build sense of the text. I know that if I am walking around the class and a table group all have a question mark next to a paragraph I know that I need to spent time on that area. A Fetzer strategy. S,S, light bulb, is also a great way to take notes in a visual way. http://www.nancyfetzer.com/pdf/Expository-Text-Organization-red.pdf When reading expository text, this strategy is a graphic organizer to break down what the subject, setting and big idea using visual images. Matt: In my classroom, whenever reading a text, I always have students highlight (or designate in some way) words that they simply do not understand or do not comprehend the context in which it is being used. This allows for a class discussion to identify challenging words and explain them in a simple manner right after reading the text (or often times, during). Though I think vocabulary lists can and should be distributed consistently throughout an ELA class, this is an active strategy that tends to help those who do not normally benefit from the tangible lists method. This approach also will help planning future lessons and what needs to be focused on in terms of comprehension and vocabulary. Graphic organizers are always helpful too - for particularly important concepts or vocabulary words, I use the Frayer Model, which thoroughly examines important words and ideas. Students learn the definition, provide facts/characters about it as well as examples and non-examples in order to ensure class-wide comprehension. Taylor: One strategy that is too often over looked is "annotation." Annotation can be very helpful in enabling students to make sense of text as well as teach students that even a teacher needs to "work through" difficult text. # What are some meaning making strategies and forms of critical analysis for understanding text and novels? Taylor: One strategy that is particularly useful is a "Read A-Loud." To do a "Read A-Loud" the teacher reads, out loud, a difficult text. As he or she reads she pauses throughout to "show" the class what is going on in his or her brain. Using this strategy a teacher can show the class how to go about assessing difficult text. For instance, the teacher might stop and ask out loud "what does THAT word mean? I've never heard that word before!" and then go about "figuring out" using context clues and such what that word means. This is also a great strategy for showing students that no matter how much you know there is still so much to learn. Matt: Just like Taylor, I also utilized the read a-loud strategy and as mentioned in a previous response, I think it is important to stop when reading a difficult text to evaluate and analyze a particularly challenge segment. I also think it is important to create a student-centered learning environment here as well, in which students can collaborate to attempt to critically analyze these hard-to-understand portions and then get clarification and redirection from the teacher. I also love to utilize knowledge of Latin and Greek roots in order to break down a word - students could even identify a similar word and break it down morpheme by morpheme so to speak. This will help them in determining word meanings in further academic settings as well. There are a variety of other active meaning-making strategies, including putting the students in a character's shoes to understand him/her and his/her intentions better, or connecting an important theme to a more personally invested scenario, or providing familiar examples of difficult literary terms and concepts. Discussion Main Points Chart Evaluation Checklist Directions: Create a checklist that can be used to evaluate/rate English texts Text Evaluation General Information Title: Author: Subject/Grade Level: Publisher: Date of Publication/Edition: Cost per book: Organization (Rating Scale: 1 - 5) -Textbook supplies effective table of contents, glossary, index, and references (or bibliography). -Chapter organization is logical and fluid -Chapters provide engaging introductions and effective conclusions -Textbook layout is visually appealing and not overwhelming (text as well as visuals and overall format) -Textbook provides a teacher's edition that complements the student edition Content (Rating Scale: 1 - 5) -Reading level is appropriate for grade/age range -Textbook content is clear, accurate and effectively conveyed -Material is interesting and engaging for grade/age range -Textbook is well-rounded and demonstrates diversity (including provided reading lists) -Textbook provides ample content in support of key vocabulary and concepts -Textbook provides real-world applications that students can relate to -Textbook supplemental activities and materials are appropriate, beneficial and support a variety of student learning styles / cultures -Textbook aligns to required state/district standards List of Texts Directions: Each member will choose two ELA texts (remember we need to come up with 2 textbooks and the rest can be novels) # StudySync with textbook from McGraw # Collections (textbook from Holt) # Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin # English (Houghton Mifflin Textbook) # A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle # Diary of Anne Frank Evaluations Text Evaluation General Information Title: Pride and Prejudice Author: Jane Austin Subject/Grade Level: 9-12 Publisher: Thomas Egerton Date of Publication/Edition: 1813 Cost per book: 11.99 Organization (Rating Scale: 1 - 5) -Textbook supplies effective table of contents, glossary, index, and references (or bibliography). 5 -Chapter organization is logical and fluid 4 -Chapters provide engaging introductions and effective conclusions 3 -Textbook layout is visually appealing and not overwhelming (text as well as visuals and overall format) N/A -Textbook provides a teacher's edition that complements the student edition N/A Content (Rating Scale: 1 - 5) -Reading level is appropriate for grade/age range 5 -Textbook content is clear, accurate and effectively conveyed 5 -Material is interesting and engaging for grade/age range 4 -Textbook is well-rounded and demonstrates diversity (including provided reading lists) 4 -Textbook provides ample content in support of key vocabulary and concepts 4 -Textbook provides real-world applications that students can relate to 3 -Textbook supplemental activities and materials are appropriate, beneficial and support a variety of student learning styles / cultures 3 -Textbook aligns to required state/district standards 4 General Information Evaluator: Stephanie Muñoz McGraw Hill Education with Study sync Textbook Cost: $108 Copyright 2015 Publication: June 11, 2015 Studysync subscription for 1 year: 15.99 Organization (Rating Scale: 1-5) Overall rating 4 I would rate the organization of this textbook a 4. I was not able to log in to their website and test out the features but I was able to review the tutorials. The tutorials very detailed and seemed easy to follow. The textbook website which is used in alignment with the reproducible textbook was very clear to understand. The tabs and other features were simple enough to navigate through. The textbook is organized into units which are designed with a theme in mind. On the website the pictures seemed very helpful and engaging to the teacher and students. Each unit has an overview that educators and students are able to review along with pacing, assignments and standards. In my opinion the reproducible textbook did not seem as engaging with its layout and was not very visually appealing. Content (Rating Scale 1-5) Overall Rating 4 The layout online is very age appropriate and inviting, however like stated before that text in the classroom needs to be more appealing. For each theme/unit there are skills that are being taught, the text to use, and it is inviting to allow students and educators to explore. The fiction and nonfiction texts that are provided are well diverse, however from what I had access to it could use more gender diversity. The texts supports grade level vocabulary and opportunities for different types of writing. I did not notice any emphasize one grammar usage or word choice from the layout. The pacing and standards are easily accessible along with the overview at the beginning of each unit/theme. Resources: McGraw Hill Education. http://mhecalifornia.com/studysync. (2015) Addition Evaluation 'General Information: ' Evaluator: Stephanie Munoz I was able to get a temporary username and password to look through their resources. Title: Collections Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Subject/ Grade Level: English Language Arts 6th grade Date of Publication: 2017 Cost per book and online access: Textbook $349 online 29.95 Organization: Rating 4.5 The curriculum includes online access for teacher and students, hardcover textbook and workbook. The textbook online services and content is very extentsive, however these is a lot of information and can be confusing if not trained. There is a video guided tour for the collections website. The Collections website, textboo, and workbook is very visual appealing and engaging. Content: Rating: 5 The information is age appropriate and well rounded. The reading has diverse group of authors, for example by looking at the first 3 texts the authors are one white man, 2 females with one being of African American decent. Unit 1 in the text's theme is "Life Doesn't Frighten Me?", I find this interesting and engaging because 6th graders are either entering middle school or at their last year of grade school. After each selection there are focus questions, vocabulary activities and grammar. I think it needs to make more connections between the texts and not wait until the final writing and/or performance task. Category:Browse